Portable lighting systems have been in use for sometime, particularly in the fire fighting field. When fighting fires, it is many times necessary to have additional lighting than which is available, and usually such lighting requires a separate power source since commercial power is generally not readily available in areas of fires.
In such emergency conditions, it is usually necessary to be able to erect such a lighting system in a short period of time and also to provide directional capability that is easily adjustable so that the light can be directed to the desired location.
Prior art lighting systems of this type, particularly for emergency lighting for fire equipment crews, normally consists of a system that is attached to the fire trucks and is hydraulically actuated to provide height and angle adjustment of the lights. Such a system requires complicated hydraulic connections and also requires a separate hydraulic pump for providing the necessary pressurized fluid to manipulate the hydraulic cylinders.